Event Brief

Food System Economics Commission (FSEC), global vehicle of FOLU, established to provide policy makers with a global analysis of the benefits of transforming food systems, has produced a global report on the transformation of food and land use systems. The report estimates the hidden costs linked to the current food systems and identifies the elements of what a transformation from today’s food systems to an inclusive, health-enhancing, and environmentally sustainable global food system entails. FSEC’s analysis of India’s food system reveals hidden costs of USD 1.5 trillion annually, primarily driven by poor nutritional outcomes and unsustainable production practices. FSEC’s transformation scenario for India suggests that these costs could be slashed by a quarter, equivalent to about USD 300 billion annually (Ruggeri Laderchi et al. 2024; Lord 2023). This reduction would result from healthier diets, reduced environmental impacts, socio-economic improvements, and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions.

FOLU aims to disseminate the outcomes of the FSEC report to different regions, translating this global understanding to country action through joint efforts towards transformation of food systems. Considering the diversity of the food systems in the country like India, FOLU India Country platform is conducting a series of three regional consultations to forge better understanding of action pathways and build consensus and networks for collective efforts.

The one-day-long regional consultations aim to engage stakeholders from diverse sectors to deliberate on the recommendations proposed by FSEC and seek inputs on how these recommendations can be adopted for creating action plans for food system transformation in India. Outcomes of these discussions will be further considered for formulation of the initial action areas of the Food Systems Hub (FSH), a national level collaborative platform initiated by FOLU India and Bharat Krishak Samaj.